HybridCars.com » Six Hours of Circuit of the Americashttp://www.hybridcars.com
Auto alternatives for the 21st centuryTue, 31 Mar 2015 14:25:22 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=3.9.2Audi’s R18 e-tron quattro To Compete In Austinhttp://www.hybridcars.com/audis-r18-e-tron-quattro-to-compete-in-austin/
http://www.hybridcars.com/audis-r18-e-tron-quattro-to-compete-in-austin/#commentsWed, 18 Sep 2013 11:11:15 +0000http://www.hybridcars.com/?p=72017Audi’s Allan McNish aims to consolidate his FIA World Endurance Championship lead at the Circuit Of The Americas in Texas on Sunday, at the wheel of his diesel-hybrid racecar. Dumfries-born McNish and co-drivers Tom Kristensen (Denmark) and Loïc Duval (France) are heading to the 3.427-mile circuit in Austin with a 22-point lead having scored two […]

]]>Audi’s Allan McNish aims to consolidate his FIA World Endurance Championship lead at the Circuit Of The Americas in Texas on Sunday, at the wheel of his diesel-hybrid racecar.

Dumfries-born McNish and co-drivers Tom Kristensen (Denmark) and Loïc Duval (France) are heading to the 3.427-mile circuit in Austin with a 22-point lead having scored two wins and two second places.

“It’s important that Tom, Loïc and I score well in terms of the championship,” said McNish. “Audi has definitely taken the fight to Toyota this year winning every WEC so far this season but knowing the competition, they’ll be out to get revenge and so I’m sure the battle at the front is going to be strong, if not stronger than ever. Tom, Loic and I had the performance and the possibilities to win the last race in Brazil but a rare wheel issue took us out of contention. Audi goes to North America to continue its winning form over there which historically has been very successful and a great hunting ground for us.”

The Six Hour Race marks the first time the WEC has visited the Circuit Of The Americas (COTA) facility which only opened last year and unusually is a relatively unknown quantity for McNish.

“I’m looking forward to going to COTA. I have not raced there but those that have say the atmosphere is fantastic and also the circuit itself is absolutely tremendous. It has a lot of demanding qualities about it, for driver and car, said Allan. “The first section is high-speed with quick changes of direction, a long straight with a very tight and twisty final part that will require us to compromise on the car set-up.”

Although the R18 e-tron quattro won an American Le Mans Series race in the U.S. in March, the Austin race marks the first time Audi’s hybrid diesel has contested a WEC race Stateside. So far this year, Audi said the double Le Mans 24 Hour race winning R18 e-tron quattro is undefeated.

Former triple American Le Mans Series champion McNish is no stranger to racing in North America. Fifty-one ALMS race starts, 41 top-three finishes – including 20 outright and 28 class wins – 16 fastest race laps, and 12 pole-positions, the Scotsman completing just three full seasons in 2000, 2006 & ’07.

Meanwhile the last time McNish raced in Texas was in 2007 when he finished third – first in class – in Houston at the wheel of an Audi R10 TDI.

]]>http://www.hybridcars.com/audis-r18-e-tron-quattro-to-compete-in-austin/feed/0Toyota Brings Its Hybrid Racing Prototype To Austinhttp://www.hybridcars.com/toyota-brings-its-hybrid-racing-prototype-to-austin/
http://www.hybridcars.com/toyota-brings-its-hybrid-racing-prototype-to-austin/#commentsTue, 17 Sep 2013 04:00:20 +0000http://www.hybridcars.com/?p=71609Toyota Racing will be in the U.S. this weekend with its hybrid race car for the inaugural Six Hours of Circuit of the Americas, the fifth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship. Anthony Davidson, Sébastien Buemi and Stéphane Sarrazin will drive the #8 TS030 HYBRID in Austin; they will afterwards be part of a […]

]]>Toyota Racing will be in the U.S. this weekend with its hybrid race car for the inaugural Six Hours of Circuit of the Americas, the fifth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship.

Anthony Davidson, Sébastien Buemi and Stéphane Sarrazin will drive the #8 TS030 HYBRID in Austin; they will afterwards be part of a two-car entry at Fuji Speedway on October 20, alongside the #7 line-up of Alex Wurz, Nicolas Lapierre and Kazuki Nakajima.

Toyota Racing said it heads Stateside determined to bounce back after a very promising but ultimately disappointing race last time out in Brazil.

The high-downforce aerodynamic update to the TS030 HYBRID performed well at Interlagos and the #8 looked set to fight for victory, but Stéphane was hit by a lapped car, ending the team’s race after just 35 minutes.

Toyota Racing shared that it aims to again challenge at the front at the recently-constructed Circuit of the Americas, a 5.515 kilometer (3.426 mile) track with significant elevation changes which hosts its first international endurance race this weekend.

The track features 20 corners, including a fast sweeping section between two tight hairpins in the first half of the lay-out.

Four hybrid recovery zones allow the TS030 HYBRID to recharge its hybrid System – Racing to the 500kilojoule limit imposed by regulation. After each recovery zone, the drivers can use a 300horsepower hybrid boost for better acceleration.

Action at the Circuit of the Americas begins with a test day on Thursday the 19, before two official practice sessions on Friday (09.15-10.45 & 15.25-16.55 local time). After Saturday’s final practice (08.40-09.40), 25 minutes of qualifying takes place at 13.35.